Corrosion-resistant member, wafer-supporting member, and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a corrosion-resistant member having a resistance to plasma of a halogen based corrosive gas, which comprises a main body and a corrosion-resistant layer formed on a surface of the main body and containing a fluoride of at least one element selected from the group consisting of rare earth elements and alkaline earth elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a corrosion-resistant member having aresistance to a plasma of a halogen based corrosive gas, awafer-supporting member using the same, and a method of manufacturingthe corrosion resistant member.

2. Description of Related Art

Processes requiring a chemical reaction become increased as finemachining more proceeds with the increase of a memory capacity in superLSI. Especially, in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus requiring asuper clean condition, a halogen based corrosive gas such as chlorinebased gas, fluorine based gas or the like is used as a gas fordeposition, etching or cleaning.

For example, when a heat CVD device or the like is used as a heatingdevice in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for heating at astate of contacting with these corrosive gases, a halogen basedcorrosive gas such as ClF₃, NF₃, CF₄, HF, HCl or the like is used as agas for cleaning the semiconductor after deposition. And also, a halogenbased corrosive gas such as WF₆, SiH₂ Cl₂ or the like is used as a gasfor forming a film at the deposition stage.

The inventors have disclosed in JP-A-5-251365 that an aluminum nitridesintered body provided on its surface with an aluminum fluoride layerhas a high corrosion resistance against a plasma of the above halogenbased corrosive gas. Namely, even when the aluminum nitride sinteredbody is exposed to, for example, ClF₃ gas for one hour, no change of thesurface state is observed.

Furthermore, the inventors have disclosed that an aluminum fluoride filmis formed on the surface of the aluminum nitride sintered body by a gasphase method such as a CVD method or the like (JP-A-5-251365). And also,JP-A-7-273053 discloses that in order to prevent the occurrence ofcorrosion in a surface of an electrostatic chuck for a semiconductorwafer, the surface of the electrostatic chuck is previously subjected toa surface treatment replacing with fluorine to form AlF₃ on the surfaceof the electrostatic chuck.

However, the inventors have made various studies and confirmed that whenthe aluminum nitride-base ceramic body is exposed to the halogen basedcorrosive gas such as ClF₃ or the like in a high temperature range,particularly above 500° C., the corrosion of the ceramic is promoted inaccordance with the exposure condition to create particles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide acorrosion-resistant member capable of preventing the occurrence ofcorrosion and hence the occurrence of particles even when it is exposedto a plasma of a halogen based corrosive gas over a wide temperaturerange of from low temperature to high temperature, especially a hightemperature range of not lower than 500° C.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is the provision ofa corrosion-resistant member having a resistance to plasma of a halogenbased corrosive gas, comprising a main body and a corrosion-resistantlayer formed on a surface of the main body, in which thecorrosion-resistant layer contains a fluoride of at least one elementselected from the group consisting of rare earth elements and alkalineearth elements.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is the provision ofa wafer-supporting member exposed to a plasma of a halogen basedcorrosive gas, comprising a main body and a corrosion-resistant layerformed on a surface of the main body, in which the corrosion-resistantlayer contains a fluoride of at least one element selected from thegroup consisting of rare earth elements and alkaline earth elements.

In general, a corrosion-resistant ceramic indicates an ion reactivityfor an acid or alkaline solution. In the invention, however, the ionreactivity is not noticed, but a reactivity for a redox reaction througha halogen in a dry gas or plasma is noticed.

The inventors have investigated a reason why the corrosion proceeds inthe aluminum nitride-base ceramic body provided with a passive coatingof aluminum fluoride or the like when being particularly exposed to theplasma of the halogen based corrosive gas in the high temperature range.As a result, in the corrosion-resistant member wherein the corrosion isproceeding, the passive coating made of aluminum fluoride substantiallydisappears from the surface of the ceramic, while aluminum nitride-baseparticles existing under the passive coating are corroded and also agrain boundary phase existing between the aluminum nitride particles issubjected to the corrosion.

Although the reason of causing such a corrosion is not clear, it isconsidered that since a vapor pressure of AlF₃ is relatively high and atemperature of rendering the vapor pressure of AlF₃ 0.001 Torr is about695° C., a process of evaporation of AlF₃ proceeds in the hightemperature range and hence the corrosion of aluminum nitride particlesbegins from the vicinity of the region where the passive coating made ofAlF₃ disappears.

For example, the temperature of rendering the vapor pressure 0.001 Torris 1066° C. in MgF₂, 1195° C. in CaF₂, 1233° C. in SrF₂, 1065° C. inBaF₂, 975° C. in ScF₃, 1100° C. in PrF₃, 1134° C. in EuF₂, and 695° C.in AlF₃.

In order to solve the above problem, the inventors made further studiesand found that when aluminum nitride ceramic body containing a specificsintering aid is corroded under violent corrosion conditions, theproceeding of corrosion stops at a certain time and a novel passivecoating having a considerably excellent corrosion resistance isunexpectedly formed on the surface of the ceramic body. Surprisingly,this coating has an extremely high corrosion resistance to the plasma ofthe halogen based corrosive gas above 500° C.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is the provision ofa method of manufacturing a corrosion-resistant member, which comprisesthe steps of: firing a powder containing 100 parts by weight of aluminumnitride and not less than 100 ppm but not more than 60 parts by weightof at least one element selected from the group consisting of rare earthelements and alkaline earth elements to produce a dense aluminum nitrideceramic sintered body; and then holding the sintered body in a plasma ofa fluorine containing gas at a temperature of 500° C.-1000° C. to form acorrosion-resistant layer.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is the provision ofa method of manufacturing a corrosion-resistant member, which comprisesthe steps of: providing an aluminum nitride ceramic main body comprisingaluminum nitride-base grains and grain boundary phase existing in grainboundaries of the aluminum nitride-base grains and containing in itsgrain boundary at least one element selected from the group consistingof rare earth elements and alkaline earth elements; and then holding themain body in a plasma of a fluorine containing gas at a temperature of500° C.-1000° C. to form a corrosion-resistant layer.

In the sintering of aluminum nitride, a sintering aid such as yttria orthe like may be added in order to promote the sintering process andraise a thermal conductivity and a mechanical strength of the resultingsintered body. After the completion of the sintering, a great amount ofsuch a sintering aid is existent in the grain boundary phase of thealuminum nitride grains. In the conventional knowledge, it is consideredthat when aluminum nitride ceramic body containing the sintering aid isexposed to the plasma of the halogen based corrosive gas, fluorineradicals or the like diffuse along the grain boundary phase to changethe volume of the grain boundary and hence aluminum nitride grains aredetached to prematurely cause the corrosion.

However, it is surprisingly discovered that when such an aluminumnitride ceramic body is exposed to the plasma of the halogen corrosivegas at a high output under a specified severe condition of hightemperature, the passive coating as mentioned above is formed.

The passive coating contains a fluoride of a rare earth element or analkaline earth element as a prominent ingredient. It is considered thatsuch an ingredient has the same high corrosion resistance as thealuminum fluoride and is difficult to evaporate even at a highertemperature as compared with the aluminum fluoride, which contributes toconsiderably improve the corrosion resistance of the corrosion-resistantmember according to the invention against the plasma of the halogenbased corrosive gas.

The inventors have made further studies and found that even when a mainbody made of material other than the aluminum nitride ceramic body isused as a main body of the corrosion-resistant member and acorrosion-resistant layer made of a fluoride of at least one elementselected from the group consisting of rare earth elements and alkalineearth elements is formed on a surface of the main body by a gas phasemethod or the like, a high corrosion resistance against the halogenbased corrosive gas can be obtained at an extremely high temperaturerange over a long time.

In this case, the corrosion-resistant layer is particularly preferableto be a film made of the fluoride, which can provide substantially ahomogeneous protection over a wide range.

Explaining in more detail, the stability against fluorine based gas aswell as chlorine based gas and bromine based gas having anelectronegativity lower than that of fluorine can be ensured by forminga compound layer of fluorine having a high electronegativity. And also,the stability at a high temperature can be obtained by using thefluoride of a rare earth element or an alkaline earth element having alow vapor pressure.

As the fluoride, the aforementioned products are preferable, andmagnesium fluoride is particularly preferable.

Further, the main body is preferable to be made of a material selectedfrom the group consisting of a metal aluminum, a metal silicon, athermal-resistant alloy, a silicon nitride-base ceramic, a siliconcarbide-base ceramic, alumina, boron carbide and silicon oxide.

Furthermore, the inventors have further studied and found that thecorrosion-resistant layer of the fluoride can be produced by forming asurface layer made of a compound of at least one element selected fromthe group consisting of rare earth elements and alkaline earth elementson the surface of the main body and holding such a surface layer in aplasma of fluorine containing gas at a temperatures of 500-1000° C.Thus, the corrosion-resistant layer of the fluoride can be produced moresurely and easily.

The material of the surface layer is not particularly limited, but it ispreferable to be a single oxide of a rare earth element and aluminum oran oxide of two or more metals. The surface layer is more preferable bemade of one or more oxides selected from the group consisting of Y₂ O₃--Al₂ O₃ two-component system oxide and Y₃ Al₅ O₁₂.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The invention will be explained more concretely below.

It has been found that the corrosion-resistant member according theinvention is stable against a plasma of a halogen based corrosive assuch as ClF₃ gas, NF₃ gas, CF₄ gas or WF₆ gas as well as Cl₂ gas, BCl₃as or the like.

When the corrosion-resistant member according to the invention is usedas a wafer-supporting member, particularly as a susceptor for supportinga semiconductor wafer, there can be provided a structural part beingstable against a cleaning gas or an etching gas and also the generationof particles or contamination resulting in the reject of thesemiconductor can be prevented over a long period. Thus, the inventioncan be first applied even to the manufacture of a high integratedsemiconductor such as DRAM, 4M or the like.

The invention is very useful irrespectively of the film-forming andcleaning for the semiconductor when the invention is applied to asusceptor generating heat by heating through an infrared lamp, a ceramicheater for heating a semiconductor, a susceptor disposed on a heatingsurface of the ceramic heater, a susceptor embedding an electrode for anelectrostatic chuck therein, a susceptor embedding an electrode for anelectrostatic chuck and a heating resistor therein, a susceptorembedding an electrode for generating a high frequency plasma therein,or a susceptor embedding an electrode for generating a high frequencyplasma and a heating resistor therein. Because it is desired to developa useful material as these parts may be exposed to a halogen basedcorrosive gas at a high temperature of not lower than 500° C.

Further, the corrosion-resistant member according to the invention canbe used as a substrate for the semiconductor manufacturing apparatussuch as a dummy wafer, a shadow ring, a tube for generating a highfrequency plasma, a dome for generating a high frequency plasma, a highfrequency transmitting window, an infrared transmitting window, a liftpin for supporting a semiconductor wafer, a shower plate or the like.

Since the metal member embedded in the susceptor is usually firedtogether with the aluminum nitride powder, it is preferable to be madeof a metal having a high melting point. As such a high melting pointmetal, mention may be made of tantalum, tungsten, molybdenum, platinum,rhenium, hafnium, and an alloy thereof. From a viewpoint of theprevention of a semiconductor from contamination, tantalum, tungsten,molybdenum, platinum and alloys thereof are more preferable.

And also, the cleaning gas or etching gas made of the halogen basedcorrosive gas is used in a chemical industry other than thesemiconductor manufacturing industry, so that the corrosion-resistantmember according to the invention is useful even in the field of thechemical industry.

As the rare earth element, Y, Yb, Ce, Pr and Eu are particularlypreferable, and as the alkaline earth element, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba arepreferable.

Among these elements, an element having an ion radius of not less than0.9 angstrom is particularly preferable. The ion radius is an ion radiusin six coordination defined through a method described by R. D. Shannonand C. T. Prestwitz, "Acta Cryst." B25, p925 (1969). As such an ionradius, there are La³⁺, Ce³⁺, Pr³⁺, Nd³⁺, Sm³⁺, Eu³⁺, Eu²⁺, Gd³⁺, Tb³⁺,Dy³⁺, Ca²⁺, Sr²⁺, Ba²⁺ and Ra²⁺.

In the above manufacturing methods according to the invention, powderobtained by a direct nitriding method can be used as a powdery aluminumnitride raw material, and also powder obtained by a reductive nitridingmethod may be used.

The rare earth element and/or the alkaline earth element may be added tothe powdery aluminum nitride raw material in various forms. For example,powder of a single body or compound of the rare earth element and/or thealkaline earth element may be added to the aluminum nitride raw materialpowder. When the amount added as the sintering aid exceeds 60 parts byweight, the thermal conductivity of the resulting aluminum nitrideceramic body decreases to less than 60 W/(m·K) and tends to be notpractical.

As the compound of the rare earth element or the alkaline earth element,an oxide of a rare earth element is generally most available. Thecompound of the rare earth element or the alkaline earth element such asnitrate, sulfate, alkoxide, fluoride or the like is dissolved in aproper solvent capable of dissolving such a compound to obtain asolution, which may be added to the powdery aluminum nitride rawmaterial. Thus, the rare earth element is easy to be uniformly dispersedinto any portions of the sintered body.

In the preparation step, the powdery aluminum nitride raw material isdispersed into the solvent, to which may be added the compound of therare earth element and/or the alkaline earth element in the form ofoxide powder or solution. The mixing may be carried out by simplestirring, but if it is required to pulverize aggregates in the powderyraw material, a mixing and pulverizing machine such as pot mill,trommel, attrition mill or the like may be used. In the case of using anadditive soluble in the solvent for pulverization, the time ofconducting the mixing and pulverizing step may be a shortest timerequired for the pulverization of the powder. Moreover, a binder such aspolyvinyl alcohol or the like may be added.

A spray drying process is preferable for the step of drying the solventfor pulverization. And also, it is preferable to adjust a grain size ofa dried powder through a sieve after the conduction of a vacuum dryingprocess.

In the powder shaping step, a mold pressing process may be employed forthe manufacture of a disc-shaped body. In this case, a shaping pressureis preferable to be not less than 100 kgf/cm², but is not particularlylimited if it is possible to maintain the shaping. Further, the shapingmaterial may be filled in a hot press die in the form of powder. Whenthe binder is added to the shaped body, the degreasing may be carriedout at a temperature of 200-800° C. in an oxidizing atmosphere prior tothe firing.

Then, the shaped body is preferably fired by a hot pressing process, ahot isostatic pressing process or the like. The pressure in the hotpressing process or the hot isostatic pressing process is preferable tobe not less than 50 kgf/cm², more particularly not less than 200kgf/cm². The upper limit of the pressure is not particularly restricted,but is practically not more than 1000 kgf/cm² in order to prevent thedamage of the furnace tool such as a mold or the like.

Further, it is preferable to raise the temperature at a temperaturerising rate of not less than 50° C./hour but not more than 1500° C./hourup to a maximum temperature in the firing. The maximum temperature ispreferable to be 1700-2300° C. When the maximum temperature exceeds2300° C., aluminum nitride begins to decompose. When the maximumtemperature is lower than 1700° C., the effective grain growth isrestrained.

When the aluminum nitride-base ceramic body as the sintered body or thelike is held in a plasma of a fluorine-containing gas at 500-1000° C.,it is rather preferable to adopt a severe condition. For example, atemperature is preferable to be 600-800° C., and a plasma power ispreferable to be not less than 500 W. A formation stage of thecorrosion-resistant layer at this process will be further explainedbelow.

The method of producing the film made of the fluoride on the main bodyis not particularly limited so long as defects and pin-holes are notformed in the film. However, if the shape of the main body iscomplicated or large, an ion plating method is preferable, while if itis a simple shape such as a cover plate or a small type, a sputteringprocess is preferable. Moreover, when the coating is carried out bythese method, it is favorable that the surface of the main body ispreviously cleaned by a method such as a reverse sputtering or the like.And also, a chemical vapor growth method, a spraying method and a powdercoating plus heat treatment may be adopted.

The thickness of the corrosion-resistant layer is not particularlylimited so long as defects such as cracking, peeling or the like are notgenerated. If the corrosion-resistant layer is too thick, fracture,cracking or the like is liable to be caused in the corrosion-resistantlayer by heat stress based on the difference of thermal expansionbetween the substrate and the corrosion-resistant layer, so that thethickness is preferable to be not more than 10 μm, more particularly notmore than 4 μm.

In order not to form the pin-hole in the corrosion-resistant layer, thethickness is preferable to be not less than 0.2 μm, more particularlynot less than 1 μm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a scanning electron microphotograph showing acorrosion-resistant layer on a surface of a corrosion-resistant memberin Example 1;

FIG. 2 is a scanning electron microphotograph showing a surface of acorrosion-resistant member and aluminum nitride grains thereunder inExample 1;

FIG. 3 is a scanning electron microphotograph showing aluminum nitridegrains on a surface of a corrosion-resistant member in ComparativeExample 1;

FIG. 4 is a scanning electron microphotograph showing a surface of acorrosion-resistant member and aluminum nitride grains hereunder inComparative Example 1;

FIG. 5 is a scanning electron microphotograph showing a section of acorrosion-resistant layer before the exposure to a plasma in acorrosion-resistant member of Example 9; and

FIG. 6 is a scanning electron microphotograph showing a section of acorrosion-resistant layer after the exposure to a plasma in acorrosion-resistant member of Example 9.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following examples are given in illustration of the invention andare not intended as limitations thereof.

EXAMPLE 1

Manufacture of an aluminum nitride-base ceramic body

At first, an aluminum nitride-base ceramic body is manufactured asfollows. As a powdery raw material is used aluminum nitride powderobtained by a reductive nitriding method. An additive solution isprepared by dissolving yttrium nitrate in isopropyl alcohol and mixedwith the powdery aluminum nitride raw material in a pot mill. An amountof yttrium added is 4 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight ofaluminum nitride. Yttrium has an ion radius of 0.89 angstrom.

A disc-shaped body having a diameter of 200 mm is produced by uniaxialpressing the mixed powder under a pressure of 200 kgf/cm². Thedisc-shaped body is placed in a hot pressing mold and sealedhermetically. The temperature in the mold is raised at a temperaturerising rate of 300° C./hour, during which the pressure is reduced over atemperature range of from room temperature to 1000° C. After thetemperature reaches 1000° C., the pressure is raised up to 200 kgf/cm²stepwise while introducing a nitrogen gas at 2 atm. The maximumtemperature is set to 1900° C. and held for 4 hours. Then, an aluminumnitride sintered body is obtained by cooling to 1000° C. at a coolingrate of 300° C./hour and then cooling in air. The thus obtained aluminumnitride-base ceramic body has a thermal conductivity of 80 W/(m·K).

Formation of corrosion-resistant layer

The sintered body is held in a NF₃ down flow plasma at 700° C. for 2hours. In this case, NF₃ gas is excited by ICP (flow rate of 100cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure, 13.56 MHz and 1 kW )and a gas pressure is set at 5 Torr. The thus obtainedcorrosion-resistant member is observed by means of a scanning electronmicroscope to obtain results as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is aphotograph viewing the corrosion-resistant layer from its surface side,and FIG. 2 is a photograph taken from an obliquely upper direction afterthe corrosion-resistant layer and the aluminum nitride sintered bodylocated thereunder are cut and the cut face is polished.

In the photographed surface region, the presence of a light atom tendsto become black and the presence of a heavy atom tends to become white,and an existing ratio of these atoms is showed by light and shade on thephotograph. As seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, aluminum nitride grains and gainboundary phase therebetween clearly remain in the corrosion-resistantmember other than the surface region thereof. On the other hand, thealuminum nitride grains and the gain boundary phase therebetween do notremain in the surface region, while a great number of very fine grainshaving substantially a sphere shape of a sub-micron order size uniformlyand densely appear on the surface to form the surface layer. There isobserved no corrosion on the surface layer.

The aluminum nitride grains as a matrix are blackish, which show thepresence of aluminum being a relatively light element. On the otherhand, the fine grains existing on the surface are slightly gray, whichshow the inclusion of elements heavier than aluminum nitride grain.Particularly, a white region is observed from FIG. 1, which shows aportion that a great amount of yttrium exists. Further, the aluminumnitride grains as the matrix are observed from the boudaries among thefine grains constituting the surface layer. Moreover, the thickness ofthe corrosion-resistant layer is about 0.5 μm.

An elementary distribution of the corrosion-resistant layer is measuredby EDS (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy). As a result, there aremainly existent aluminum, yttrium, nitrogen, fluorine, and oxygen andthe weight ratio of yttrium to a sum of aluminum and yttrium is 30%. Andalso, yttrium is existent as a fluoride but there is a possibility ofremaining of a part of yttrium as garnet. On the surface is lost thefilm of aluminum fluoride.

The reason can be guessed as mentioned below. Namely, when the sinteredbody is exposed to NF₃ gas plasma, a greater part of AlF₃ is evaporatedto considerably corrode the aluminum nitride grains. At the same time,it is considered that the grain boundary layer of aluminum nitridegrains is also subjected to the corrosion and yttria in the grainboundary layer is fluorinated. In this case, it is considered that theamount of yttrium is small as compared with that of aluminum nitridegrain and a large amount of yttrium fluoride hardly aggregates and hencethe fine grains having a sub-micron order size are produced on thesurface of the aluminum nitride to form the corrosion-resistant layer.

Corrosion test

The corrosion-resistant member is held in NF₃ gas of 600° C. and 1 Torrexcited by ICP for 10 hours. In this case, a flow rate is 100 cc/minuteat 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure and the excitation is carried outat 13.56 MHz and 1 kW. As a result of the measurement of the weight ofthe corrosion-resistant member before and after the corrosion test, thedecreases of 2 mg/cm² is observed after the corrosion test.

EXAMPLE 2

An aluminum nitride sintered body is produced in the same manner asdescribed in Example 1. In this case, calcia is added in an amount of0.03 part by weight as converted to calcium as a sintering aid. An ionradius of calcium is 1.00 angstrom. The resulting aluminum nitridesintered body has a thermal conductivity of 80 W/(m·K).

The sintered body is held in CF₄ down flow plasma at 650° C. for 3hours. In this case, CF₄ gas is excited by ICP (flow rate of 100cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure, 13.56 MHz and 1 kW )and a gas pressure is set at 5 Torr. The thus obtainedcorrosion-resistant member is observed by means of a scanning electronmicroscope to obtain substantially the same results as in Example 1.Further, the thickness of the corrosion-resistant layer is 3 μm, andaluminum, calcium, nitrogen, fluorine, and oxygen are mainly existenttherein, and the weight ratio of calcium to a sum of aluminum andcalcium is 20%. And also, calcium is existent as a fluoride, but thereis a possibility of remaining a part of calcium as garnet. On thesurface is lost the film of aluminum fluoride.

As a result of the fact that the same corrosion test as in Example 1 iscarried out with respect to the above corrosion-resistant member, thedecrease of 5 mg/cm² is observed after the corrosion test.

EXAMPLE 3

An aluminum nitride sintered body is produced in the same manner asdescribed in Example 1. In this case, dilanthanum trioxide is added inan amount of 8.5 parts by weight as converted to lanthanum as asintering aid. An ion radius of lanthanum is 1.06 angstrom. The thusobtained aluminum nitride sintered body has a thermal conductivity of140 W/(m·K).

The sintered body is held in NF₃ down flow plasma at 650° C. for 3hours. In this case, NF₃ gas is excited by ICP (flow rate of 100cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure, 13.56 MHz and 1 kW) anda gas pressure is set at 5 Torr. The thus obtained corrosion-resistantmember has substantially the same result as in Example 1 as a result ofthe observation of the surface by means of a scanning electronmicroscope. Further, the thickness of the corrosion-resistant layer is 2μm, and aluminum, lanthanum, nitrogen, fluorine, and oxygen are mainlyexistent and the weight ratio of lanthanum to a sum of aluminum andlanthanum is 60%. And also, lanthanum is existent as a fluoride, butthere is a possibility of remaining of a part of lanthanum as garnet. Onthe surface is lost the film of aluminum fluoride.

After the same corrosion test as in Example 1 is carried out withrespect to the above corrosion-resistant member, the decrease of 0.1mg/cm² is observed.

EXAMPLE 4

An aluminum nitride sintered body is produced in the same manner asdescribed in Example 1. In this case, strontium carbide is added in anamount of 0.89 part by weight as converted to strontium as a sinteringaid. An ion radius of strontium is 1.16 angstrom. The thus obtainedaluminum nitride sintered body has a thermal conductivity of 150W/(m·K).

The sintered body is held in NF₃ down flow plasma at 700° C. for 2hours. In this case, NF₃ gas is excited by ICP (flow rate of 100cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure, 13.56 MHz and 1 kW) anda gas pressure is set at 5 Torr. The thus obtained corrosion-resistantmember has substantially the same result as in Example 1 as a result ofthe observation of the surface by means of a scanning electronmicroscope. Further, the thickness of the corrosion-resistant layer is 6μm, and aluminum, strontium, nitrogen, fluorine, and oxygen are mainlyexistent and the weight ratio of strontium to a sum of aluminum andstrontium is 60%. On the surface is lost the film of aluminum fluoride.

After the same corrosion test as in Example 1 is carried out withrespect to the above corrosion-resistant member, the decrease of 0.1mg/cm² is observed.

EXAMPLE 5

An aluminum nitride sintered body is produced in the same manner asdescribed in Example 1. In this case, calcia is added in an amount of0.03 part by weight as converted to calcium and yttria is added in anamount of 2.4 parts by weight as converted to yttrium, respectively, asa sintering aid. The thus obtained aluminum nitride sintered body has athermal conductivity of 170 W/(m·K).

The sintered body is held in NF₃ down flow plasma at 700° C. for 2hours. In this case, NF₃ gas is excited by ICP (flow rate of 100cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure, 13.56 MHz and 1 kW) anda gas pressure is set at 5 Torr. The thus obtained corrosion-resistantmember has substantially the same result as in Example 1 as a result ofthe measurement of the surface by means of a scanning electronmicroscope. Further, the thickness of the corrosion-resistant layer is 5μm, and aluminum, calcium, yttrium, nitrogen, fluorine, and oxygen aremainly existent and the weight ratio of calcium and yttrium to a sum ofaluminum, calcium and yttrium is 35%. On the surface is lost the film ofaluminum fluoride.

After the same corrosion test as in Example 1 is carried out withrespect to the above corrosion-resistant member, the decrease of 6mg/cm² is observed.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1

An aluminum nitride sintered body is produced in the same manner asdescribed in Example 1. The sintered body is held in ClF₃ gas at 600° C.for 3 hours, provided that the pressure of ClF₃ gas is set at 5 Torr.

The thus obtained corrosion-resistant member is observed by means of ascanning electron microscope to obtain results as shown in FIGS. 3 and4. FIG. 3 is a photograph viewing the corrosion-resistant layer from thesurface side thereof, and FIG. 4 is a photograph taken from an obliquelyupper direction after the corrosion-resistant layer and aluminum nitridesintered body as the matrix are cut and then the cut face is polished.

In the surface region of the corrosion-resistant member, the aluminumnitride grains just being corroded and the grain boundary phasetherebetween appear. That is, the corrosion proceeds toward the insideof each grain. Further, aluminum fluoride layer is not observed.

After the same corrosion test as in Example 1 is carried out withrespect to the above corrosion-resistant member, the decrease of 40mg/cm² is observed.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2

An aluminum nitride sintered body is produced in the same manner asdescribed in Example 1. After the same corrosion test as in Example 1 iscarried out with respect to the resulting sintered body, the decrease of100 mg/cm² is observed.

EXAMPLE 6

There is provided a main body having a planar shape of 20 mm in length,20 mm in width and 1 mm in thickness, provided that a material of themain body is metal aluminum (JIS A 1050: 95% aluminum), alumina (95%dense alumina), aluminum nitride (95% or 99.9%), quarts glass or siliconcarbide (dense silicon carbide obtained by pressureless sintering).Then, a corrosion-resistant layer of magnesium fluoride having athickness of 1 μm is formed on the main body by magnetron sputtering. Inthis case, the conditions are a sputtering pressure of 0.7-5 Pa, 200 W,1-10 hours and an argon flow rate of 18 cc/minute at 0° C. under 1atmospheric pressure.

Each of the resulting corrosion-resistant members is held in ClF₃ plasmaof 600° C. and 0.1 Torr excited by ICP for 5 hours. The flow rate ofClF₃ is 75 cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure and that ofargon is 5 cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure. After theweight of the corrosion-resistant member is measured before and afterthe corrosion test, the corrosion weight loss of any members is lessthan 0.1 mg/cm², and there is observed no peeling and cracking of thecorrosion-resistant layer.

EXAMPLE 7

There is provided a main body having a planar shape of 20 mm in length,20 mm in width and 1 mm in thickness, provided that a material of themain body is a dense aluminum nitride (96%). Then, a corrosion-resistantlayer having a thickness of 1 μm and made of magnesium fluoride, calciumfluoride, yttrium fluoride or MgF₂ /YF₃ /AlN is formed on the main bodyby magnetron sputtering. The conditions are a sputtering pressure of0.7-5 Pa, 200 W, 1-10 hours and an argon flow rate of 18 cc/minute at 0°C. under 1 atmospheric pressure.

Each of the resulting corrosion-resistant members is held in ClF₃ plasmaof 600° C. and 0.1 Torr excited by ICP for 5 hours. The flow rate ofClF₃ is 75 cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure and that ofargon is 5 cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure. After theweight of each corrosion-resistant member is measured before and afterthe corrosion test, the corrosion weight loss of any members is lessthan 0.1 mg/cm², and there is observed no peeling and cracking of thecorrosion-resistant layer.

EXAMPLE 8

There is provided a main body having a planar shape of 20 mm in length,20 mm in width and 1 mm in thickness, provided that a material of themain body is dense silicon nitride (99%). Then, a corrosion-resistantlayer of magnesium fluoride having a thickness of 0.2 μm, 1 μm or 4 μmis formed on the main body by magnetron sputtering. The conditions are asputtering pressure of 0.7-5 Pa, 200 W, 1-10 hours and an argon flowrate of 18 cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure.

Each of the resulting corrosion-resistant members is held in ClF₃ plasmaof 600° C. and 0.1 Torr excited by ICP for 5 hours. The flow rate ofClF₃ is 75 cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure and that ofargon is 5 cc/minute at 0° C. under 1 atmospheric pressure. After theweight of each corrosion-resistant member is measured before and afterthe corrosion test, the corrosion weight loss of any members is lessthan 0.1 mg/cm², and there is observed no peeling and cracking of thecorrosion-resistant layer.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 3

The same corrosion test as in Example 8 is applied to a main bodyobtained in the same manner as in Example 8 except that thecorrosion-resistant layer is not formed on the main body of densesilicon nitride (99%). As a result, the corrosion weight loss is 16mg/cm².

EXAMPLE 9

A corrosion-resistant layer of magnesium fluoride having a thickness of1 μm is formed on a heater of 96% dense aluminum nitride by an ionplating method.

The heater is subjected to a heat cycle test in ClF₃ plasma of 0.1 Torrexcited by ICP. The flow rate of ClF₃ is made 75 cc/minute at 0° C.under 1 atmospheric pressure and that of argon is 5 cc/minute at 0° C.under 1 atmospheric pressure. Five cycles of temperature rising anddropping are repeated between 200° C. and 700° C. In each cycle, it isheld at 700° C. for 1 hour. The corrosion weight loss of the heaterafter the corrosion test is less than 0.1 mg/cm², and there is observedno peeling and cracking of the corrosion-resistant layer.

FIG. 5 is a scanning electron microphotograph showing a polished cutface of the corrosive-resistant layer at its section before the exposureto the plasma, and FIG. 6 is a scanning electron microphotograph showinga polished cut face of the corrosion-resistant layer at its sectionafter the exposure to the plasma. As seen from these photographs, thecorrosion-resistant layer does not show remarkable change even after theexposure to the plasma, and there are not observed defects such aspeeling, cracking and the like and the other change in quality.

EXAMPLE 10

A corrosion-resistant layer of magnesium fluoride having a thickness of1 μm is formed on a cover plate (disc shape having a diameter of 210 mmand a thickness of 10 mm) of 99.9% dense aluminum nitride by magnetronsputtering under the same condition as in Example 6.

The cover plate is subjected to a heat cycle test in ClF₃ plasma of 0.1Torr excited by ICP. The flow rate of ClF₃ is 75 cc/minute at 0° C.under 1 atmospheric pressure and that of argon is 5 cc/minute at 0° C.under 1 atmospheric pressure. Five cycles of temperature rising anddropping are repeated between 200° C. and 715° C. During 5 heat cycles,it is held at 715° C. for 78 hours in total. After the corrosion test,the corrosion weight loss of the cover plate is less than 0.1 mg/cm²,and there is observed no peeling and cracking of the corrosion-resistantlayer.

As mentioned above, according to the invention, even when thecorrosion-resistant member is exposed to the plasma of the halogen basedcorrosive gas over a wide temperature range of from a low temperature toa high temperature, especially in a high temperature region of not lowerthan 500° C., the corrosion of the surface of the corrosion-resistantmember and the occurrence of particles can be prevented.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wafer-supporting member exposed to a plasma ofa halogen based corrosive gas, said member comprising (1) a main bodymade of a material selected from the group consisting of a siliconnitride, a silicon carbide, alumina, boron carbide, silicon oxide, andan aluminum nitride and (2) a corrosion-resistant layer formed on asurface of the main body, in which the corrosion-resistant layercontains a fluoride of at least one element selected from the groupconsisting of rare earth elements and alkaline earth elements.
 2. Awafer-supporting member according to claim 1, wherein the main body ismade of an aluminum nitride-base ceramic having a thermal conductivityof not less than 60 W/(m·K).
 3. A wafer-supporting member according toclaim 1, wherein the fluoride is a fluoride of a rare earth element. 4.A wafer-supporting member according to claim 1, wherein the fluoride isa fluoride of a metal selected from the group consisting of calcium,strontium, and barium.